How do I restore my tabs from last time?

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  • Creator: scoobidiver
  • Comment: added default to home page, the previous session instead of a previous version, fx35 section back, note about closing Firefox back, removed duplicated keywords
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If you have stopped receiving a "Do you want Firefox to save your tabs for the next time it starts" prompt when you exitquit Firefox, this problem could be due to settings, extension problems, or corrupted files causing failure of Firefox components.

Firefox no longer asks to save tabs and windows when you close it. This article explains how to get your tabs and windows back from the previous browsing session.
Note: In order to get your tabs and windows back from the previous session, you should close Firefox from the menu: Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit. If you close each window or tab, only the final window or tab that you closed will be available when you restart Firefox.

Restore the previous session from the default home page

If you had tabs and windows open when you closed Firefox, the default Firefox home page will have a Restore Previous Session button on it. To get your tabs and windows back, just click it. Restore Previous Session - Win1

Note: If you've set your home page to something other than the default Firefox home page, you can restore the default home page.


Restore the previous session from the history menu

Here's how to get your tabs and windows from a previous session back if you don't use the default Firefox home page:

  • At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to History (click the History menu on Windows XP) and select Restore Previous Session.On the menu bar, click the History menu and select Restore Previous Session.At the top of the Firefox window, click the History menu and select Restore Previous Session.Restore Previous Session - Win2


Restore the previous session every time you open Firefox

See Configuring session restore for instructions on setting Firefox to always show your windows and tabs from last time when you start it.

Settings may be incorrect

You may need to make corrections to your Firefox settings to fix the problem.

  1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and then select Preferences or Settings, depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button Fx89menuButton and select Settings.
  2. Select the General panel (Main panel in Firefox 3.5), and set When Firefox starts to Show my home page.
  3. Switch to the Tabs panel, and check mark Warn me when closing multiple tabs.
  4. Switch to the Privacy panel, and make sure Firefox will: is set to either Remember history or Use custom settings for history.
    • If Firefox will: is set to Use custom settings for history then make sure that Automatically start Firefox in a private browsing sessionPermanent Private Browsing mode is not selected.
    • If Firefox will: is set to Use custom settings for history and Clear history when Firefox closes is selected then click the Settings button and make sure that Browsing History is not selected.
  5. Close the Settings page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.


Extensions are interfering

Some extensions (e.g. Tab Mix Plus) are known to cause this problem. To find out if it is an extension, read Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems.


Corrupted files

Firefox stores your user information in a separate folder on your computer. One or more files within that folder may be corrupt. If you delete or rename the problem files, Firefox will generate new files, as needed, to replace them.

  1. Open your profile folder:

    • Click the menu button Fx89menuButton, click Help and select More Troubleshooting Information.From the Help menu, select More Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
    • Under the Application Basics section next to Profile FolderDirectory, click Open FolderShow in FinderOpen Directory. A window will open that contains your profile folder.Your profile folder will open.
    Note: If you are unable to open or use Firefox, follow the instructions in Finding your profile without opening Firefox.

  2. Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
    • Make sure Firefox is not running at this point.
  3. Within your profile folder, rename these files (e.g., by adding .bak to the end of the file name)
    • Rename formhistory.sqlite to formhistory.sqlite.bak.
    • Rename sessionstore.js to sessionstore.js.bak.
Note: Should you need to restore the old versions of these files, simply delete the new versions and rename the old versions back to the original name (e.g., by removing the .bak from the end of each file name).